Adoptive families deal with a special dynamic that affects parents, adopted children, and birth children. And they face unique issues of attachment, adjustment, and identity. Creating a nurturing family environment and being prepared for typical crisis points are critical to forging a healthy, lasting family relationship.

With encouragement and practical information, The Whole Life Adoption Book will give hope and direction to those considering adoption and to those desiring to improve and develop the adoptive family relationship at any stage.

CONTENTS:

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PART ONE - Adoption: A Labor of the Heart

1. Choosing to Love a Stranger: Unique Challenges Adoptive Parents Must Face
2. Creating A Family: How Do Children Enter Our Homes, and Who Are They?
3. What Builds Healthy Adoptive Families? Ten Critical Success Factors
4. Developing a Supportive Adoption Environment: How to Prepare Biological Children, Family, and Friends

PART TWO - When a Child Comes Home

5. Attachment: How to Develop the Crucial Bond
6. Barriers to Adjustment: Strategies to Ease the Transition

PART THREE - Communicating About Adoption

7. How Do We Feel About Adoption? Critical Questions for Parents and Children
8. Talking to Children About Adoption: When and How

PART FOUR - Growing Up Adopted

9. Creating a Nurturing Family: Giving Our Children What They Need
10. What's Inside an Adopted Adolescent? Helping Our Teens Resolve Five Painful Issues
11. Transcultural Adoption: Preparing for Special Challenges
12. Searching for a Past: Why Adopted Children Seek Their Roots and How Parents Can Respond